The value of virtue signalling is falling, like everything else in this economy
Fallout from the Toronto police chief's apology shows the value of liberal virtue signalling has taken a hit
In today’s National Post, you can find one of the most important pieces I’ve ever written: a look at the Toronto Star’s reporting as a case study of media-driven race politics, and how news media might attempt to manipulate black communities.
It’s available online here: the black victimhood narratives that ignore actual progress
One of the main points I make in the Post is that there are institutions (e.g. news media corporations) and individuals (e.g. university professors quoted by journalists) who do not want Canada to move forward on matters of racial inequality. They want us stuck in place, and I speculate that’s because they benefit from the status quo.
Unsurprisingly, these same institutions and individuals were unmoved when Toronto’s police chief James Ramer apologized last week for what he called systemic racism. The chief’s apology, taken from Justin Trudeau’s playbook, didn’t get the response that the Toronto Police Service probably hoped for. Even the Toronto Star is unimpressed.
During a time of unprecedented inflation, when the value of everything is falling, we can add virtue signalling to the growing list of things tanking in this economy.
The chief’s apology was also hurt by its own weakness. I also reject his apology, but for very different reasons than most of the journalists and university professors you’ll see commenting on the issue. To me, the problem is he has joined the systemic racism bandwagon alongside liberal elites. Chief Ramer adopted the language of people who don’t want to actually help black communities, or anyone else.
I shared my concerns about the systemic racism bandwagon in last week’s Toronto Sun:
Liberal elites who benefit from the institutional status quo have fallen in love with the term systemic racism because it doesn’t lead to substantive changes. For liberals in positions of power, systemic racism is (ironically) a get out of jail free card. Instead of any individual people bearing responsibility for prejudice and discrimination, elites can treat racism as an unseen spirit that occupies an organization’s policies and practices. At the end of the day, liberal elites get to virtue signal about fighting racism without a single one of them being held accountable.
Don’t believe me? Ask Chief Ramer: If there is so much racism in the Toronto Police Service, who exactly are the racists and why isn’t he firing them?
It would be nice if political leaders could see what has transpired with Chief Ramer and decide to stop the virtue signalling in favour of tangible actions and real solutions. But, at this point, one can only hope.
The value of virtue signalling is falling, like everything else in this economy
Even the most uninformed person (and there are many) will eventually figure out that only meaningful dialogues, without all the virtual signalling BS, will provide results. To this day, the phrase "actions speak louder than words" is still as relevant as ever.
Jamil has reasonably stated his case that upset folks with vested interest in profiting from racism under the guise of being nice and sensitive. when in measured reality they live ignoring potential solutions. Jamil speaks truth to the righteous and powerful.